It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Brenda Susan Perry on May 12, 2026, at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria BC.
Brenda was predeceased by her parents Neil and Betty MacPherson and husband and partner James (Jim) Perry. She is survived by her son Michael Perry, sister Susan Alexander, niece Kyley Alexander, nephew Kevin Alexander as well as many dear friends.
Brenda was born in Lytton BC on March 28, 1948. The family moved to Nelson BC in 1958. Brenda attended UBC where she met her future husband, Jim. They were married on May 9, 1970, in Nelson. They welcomed their son Michael in May 1974. The family spent the next few years in the US for Jim’s career in the petroleum industry. Brenda was an avid homemaker in Louisiana, Connecticut and Texas before finally moving to Calgary, Alberta in November 1982. In 1987 the family moved into a house they had constructed overlooking Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Over the next several decades Brenda and Jim travelled extensively. Many trips were made across North America, Western Europe and the South Pacific. While living in Calgary, Brenda also enjoyed being a docent for the Glenbow Museum and a teammate on a Ladies bowling team. She loved conversing with all her friends and keeping up on the current events in their lives. She moved to Victoria in 2023 after Jim’s passing in 2019. She lived at Amica on the Gorge senior’s residence where she made great friends amongst the residents and staff.
A celebration of Life will be announced soon.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Condolences and memories may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
This obituary is the property of the “Perry” family and may not be reproduced, distributed, or altered in any way without prior written consent.
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Doug Walkley
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Peter Ernst I just learned of this news. Brenda was always very socially engaged with us, hosting us in Calgary and phoning to ask how Sheila was doing and to exchange a few tips on how we all surving the aging process! We’re very sorry to hear of this loss. Please accept our condolences.
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Sandra StClair Michael, I don’t believe we’ve met; my heartfelt condolences to you on the loss of your Mom. I am a Best Friend of Suzy’s, my arms are around you, Dearest Friend. I so enjoyed Brenda the few times I was with her, such a great sense of humour, such a good heart. I know she will be missed so very much. Sending much love.
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Kathleen Hicks from Cousin Kathleen, John, and Auntie Edna
Sending love and condolences to Michael, Cousin Susan and family. We share wonderful memories of Brenda (and Jim) over the years. Such a wonderful person, with the kindest heart. We will miss her dearly.
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Judy and Chris We met on our doorstep when Brenda delivered homemade brownies to us as new neighbours to the community. Her kind welcoming led to many years of friendship, sharing interests in bowling, gardening, travel, reading and family. She had a knack for organizing our neighborhood “Lunch Bunch”. She always had a lively story or two to add to a conversation, often with an historical touch.
Our clivia plant, a gift from Brenda and Jim, is a lovely reminder of our time together.
Our warmest condolences to Michael, Susan and family.
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Lisa Taleb It is not what we have in life, but who we have in it that matters. Loving kind compassionate elegant well versed Brenda was a beautiful soul who will be dearly missed and always remembered. It was a pleasure to know you. I will cherish the stories you shared and the moments we laughed. Yellow flowers will forever remind me of you. You will be forever missed and always loved. May you rest in peace.
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Jason Taleb Mrs.P as I affectionately called her since I was 12 years old was a second Mom to me. Mike and I have been best friends since the day we met and Mrs.P was kind enough to let me tag along on family vacations and countless dinners. Both Mr and Mrs Perry were always kind, funny and hospitable. She went through so much in the last few years and never lost her sense of humour or her good nature. I will miss her deeply and sending all my love to Mike and the family. ❤️
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Michelle DeCecco Simply said, Mrs. Perry made the world a better place. Her acceptance and sincere happiness for others will be missed by those lucky enough to have loved her. The greatest gift she leaves behind is her son Michael, who made sure that her last years were filled with beautiful adventures, amazing dinners, walks around the gorge, and of course, endless trips to the card store to find that perfect ‘greeting card’ for her friends and family. My sincerest condolences ❤️
I knew Brenda MacPherson a long time, since first showed up in Miss Smith’s Grade Four class at Hume School in Nelson BC. If I were to describe Brenda, it would be with adjectives such as Enthusiastic, Feisty and Exuberant, but then again, this may only be the side of Brenda I remember. As I reach back into my memory bank, I can retrieve the following four examples:
In Nelson, in the ’50s, when you picked up the 1/4 inch phone book, you would soon realize that the names with Mc and Mac represent a good 20% of the phone book. These names were never mixed with non Mc and Macs but were separated out to make it easy to find them. So, of course, the MacPhersons were in the Mac section. Brenda made her first big impression in her grade four class, when stern Miss Smith had the misfortune of calling upon Brenda McPherson. Brenda’s loud response was: “It is MacPherson, not McPherson”!
Then in Juniorhigh, I was on her bowling team and she was the leader. Now, I have in life, had a tendency of not taking things too seriously and bowling was one of these things. However, when I chose to just clown around on the alley, Brenda, with much gusto, quickly let me know we were not going to win the tournament with those sort of shenanigans.
As it turned out, Brenda and I ended up at the same residence at UBC. I in Robson House and she in Maudsley House. There was a costume party at halloween and I had this long blonde wig for some reason or other, so I thought I should go as a girl, but I lacked a few things such as makeup, a dress and a bra. I solicited Brenda’s assistance with all of these. She was absolutely delightful as she and a friend gathered the essentials and very enthusiastically and joyfully applied makeup until I was “perfect”.
In Robson House for third-year, I was the President and Jim Perry (JP) was the Secretary-treasurer. We had planned a mixed overnight excursion to cabins up on Hollyburn Mountain. It was up to me to announce this to the eight-hundred students at the dinner table. It seemed that Brenda had an eye for JP. So, anything he was doing, she wanted to do to. Near the end of the dinner session, I, with microphone in hand, announced the nature of our adventure and asked that any interested parties sign up NOW. I also inferred (incorrectly) that space was limited. Well, I have never seen Brenda move so fast as she did from the far corner of the dining room to my registration table. I must say her action was very worthwhile for both Brenda (and JP).
The last time I saw Brenda was in 2018 at a 4th Floor Robson House party that I hosted in Victoria. There, she was already in her wheelchair, but you would never know it since she remained large as life. In 2025, in Rossland, we had a similar party and the whole gang thought of the good and exciting times that had been shared with JP and Brenda.